SUMMARY
What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?
What if you never had to fall?
Fast-forward to a time when Apple and Google have been replaced by Gnosis, a monolith corporation that has developed the most life-changing technology to ever hit the market: Lux, an app that flawlessly optimizes decision making for the best personal results. Just like everyone else, sixteen-year-old Rory Vaughn knows the key to a happy, healthy life is following what Lux recommends. When she’s accepted to the elite boarding school Theden Academy, her future happiness seems all the more assured. But once on campus, something feels wrong beneath the polished surface of her prestigious dream school. Then she meets North, a handsome townie who doesn’t use Lux, and begins to fall for him and his outsider way of life. Soon, Rory is going against Lux’s recommendations, listening instead to the inner voice that everyone has been taught to ignore — a choice that leads her to uncover a truth neither she nor the world ever saw coming.
ABOUT LAUREN
Jaime’s Thoughts
Free to Fall by Lauren Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I’ve been dying to get my hands on this book since I heard about it … mostly because I read Parallel and thoroughly enjoyed Lauren Miller’s writing. But that wasn’t the only reason… the plot of this book is completely intriguing, especially in this day and age, where many people are glued to technology, from our tablets to our smartphones the constant need to be connected definitely offers plenty of opportunity for exploration and Miller did an amazing job with Free To Fall.
What if there was an app that told you what song to listen to, what coffee to order, who to date, even what to do with your life—an app that could ensure your complete and utter happiness? What if you never had to fail or make a wrong choice?
What if you never had to fall?
What If you never had to make another decision in your life… using your handheld device would do it all for you. It would weigh your options and decide the best of everything for you. It’s definitely not that hard to imagine a future just like this is it? In 2032, Rory and many others are already living this life. Gnosis has taken the place of companies like Apple and Google and with the introduction of Lux to all handheld devices several years ago, owners can consult “her” for any and all decisions. Lux would never steer you wrong, all her decisions are guaranteed to provide a happy and healthy and successful life for the user… but what if there’s more to it than that? And that is the underlying plot of this story.
Lux doesn’t care what you like,” North pointed out. “Lux cares about what you’ll buy.”
“But aren’t those the same thing.”
“Hardly. You buy stuff you don’t like all the time. You just don’t realize it because you’re too busy telling yourself you love it to justify the fact that you bought it.”
Rory never knew her mom… she died the day she was born. But her father has told her a few things about her… For example, she went to Theden, a University that everyone wants to attend but very few get into. When Rory is accepted into Theden she’s amazed and ecstatic. She understands the prestige and she knows attending will guarantee the best education, the best job and the best life for her and she’s determined to make it.
But things happen as her school year progresses and she comes to realize that everything might not be as it seems. Suddenly, her life is thrown into a tailspin, and unraveling the secrets leads to revelations neither she or anyone else might be prepared for. Along the way she finds herself depending on a few key friends to help make sense of everything.
Ultimately, the big question this book raises is how important is it to make your own decisions and make your own mistakes? It also really looks at how we as a society depend on technology … even in situations where we maybe don’t need to. There were parts of this book that I found myself nodding and kind of chuckling to myself because of how much I could see me or my friends or even random strangers in the way that some of these people are depicted… their dependence upon a tiny little device and the utter panic when it’s not available to them. It’s an intriguing concept for a story with a lot of different ways to explore and like I said, Lauren Miller did an amazing job, ultimately I felt like this book turned into something more than I was expecting though and it completely blew me away with the depth and detail.
I loved Rory! She evolves from this teen who depends so much on a tiny device to make her decisions for her into someone who learns to trust her own instincts. How that all happens I can’t really get into details, but I think you’ll love it as much as I did. When she meets North she isn’t sure what to make of him and rightfully so. He’s off the grid – and someone who doesn’t trust the technology that is out there. Add to the fact that he’s dropped out of school and working in a coffee house and she knows he doesn’t have the same goals as she does… but for some reason she can’t seem to stop thinking of him.
I adore North just so you all know. He isn’t quite the person he comes across as and I loved finding out about him just as much as Rory did. And let me tell you… If you’re looking for some swoon, look no further because he definitely brought it.
“Will you please stop at the drugstore first and get something for your fever? It’ll take two minutes. I’d give you something but Kate cleaned out our medicine drawer last night.”
“You’re worried about me,” I said and smiled.
“Nah. It’s purely selfish. I want to be able to kiss you without infecting myself.”
But aside from our main characters, there were quite a few more that we get to know and each one adds another layer to an already complex story… from Hershey, Rory’s roommate, to Beck, to Dr. Tarsus her instructor, you never really know what the next character is going to reveal and it was so much fun learning who each of them are how they have come to impact Rory’s life.
This story has a bit of everything and when I look at my comments I realize that you might think this book is all serious business, and while it has those moments, it also has some lighthearted and fun stuff too. There is a bit of a romance… as I mentioned North above and while that’s there in the background it doesn’t ultimately take over the story, which I liked a lot. But be warned, it does have your average high school angst… however, no over the top drama.
If you’re looking for a story that has some mystery and suspense, a timely and intriguing story with characters you will find yourself turning pages to know more about, you definitely need to pick up Free To Fall when it arrives in May.
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